Friday, January 30, 2009

It's been a great day! My Dad came and picked me and the kiddo up to take us to lunch and go shopping. We stopped by the AT&T store on the way to lunch and I got a new phone (which was super cool). Thanks Dad!

Then we headed over to the outlet mall to get Mac a pair of Converse for her 1 yr photos next weekend. I got a cool new sweatshirt while we were there and I put it on immediately (a rarity for me since I wash everything I wear before it touches my body!).

We came home, Mac took a nap, and then we headed out to dinner at Master Grill. It was yummy and we all ate way too much!!

It was a fun day for me and it was a fun day for my budget (since I didn't have to spend a penny)!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

I just realized I haven't blogged in 10 days! OOPS! That's probably a bad sign, but such is life ;)

I kind of lost track of what I've been spending. I was keeping grocery receipts, but those went out the window. I'm sure they're lying around here somewhere, but I have no idea where. My house is a wreck. Life has been insane and things around home are just not getting taken care of :(

I've been doing good about cooking dinner, so that is awesome! We've definitely been eating out, but most of that has been on someone elses tab :) We went out to dinner this weekend with our friends and it wasn't what I was hoping for. It was our last dinner out for the month because we'd be close to our $100 budget after the tab. Well...my kiddo was coming down with something and she was U.P.S.E.T! I had to stand for almost the entire meal. She just did not want to sit down. Nothing I did worked, but standing. At least she was mostly quiet :)

I sort of lost track of how much I've spent on lunches out. Aaron thinks it's over $40 and I think I came in just under budget. Either way it doesn't matter...the month is over! Thank God! Well I've got tomorrow and Saturday, but I'm not worried about those. Tomorrow is my birthday and my Dad is taking me out to lunch and Aaron's Mom is taking us out to dinner. Saturday we're going out with my family. Then the month is over and I'm in the clear...haha!

Next month I'm going to do better about holding on to receipts for at least my lunches out, so I can make sure I'm staying within our budget for that. All grocery trips go on our credit card that we pay off every month, so I'm not so worried about holding on to those.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Yesterday I went to my Sisters house to help her pack. Unfortunately I didn't think to bring my lunch, so when it was time to eat we had to go get something ;( Sadly, I spent $7 on lunch. That brings my monthly total up to $22 if I don't count the $8 I spent at Mooyah (which Aaron said I could take out of his budget since he hasn't used any...haha!).

Today we decided to go have Chipotle for lunch. Aaron had the day off and we needed to run some errands, so we thought it would be nice to grab some lunch. We haven't had Chipotle in like 3 or 4 weeks and we used to eat it at least once or twice a week. That was almost $18. So we're up to $48 in our family budget for the month. It would be nice if we could leave it at that and not spend anymore :)

I really need to figure out how to get through the next 11 days without spending too much! And my birthday is coming up in 10 days, so I'm sure we're going to want to go out to dinner. I told Aaron he could cook for me and he just laughed! haha!

Saturday, January 17, 2009

I told Aaron I figured out the way around this no eating out problem of ours...

Have wonderful parents who like to take you out to eat! hee hee! This afternoon me and Mac are meeting my Mom, Sister, & Niece at Chilis for lunch. Then tonight we're having dinner at The Cheesecake Factory with Aaron's Dad! I'm loving this day! No meals to prepare. No dishes to clean! SWEET!! Aaron's on his own for lunch! He'll find something in the pantry! LOL!

I never even thought of getting out of my pajamas yesterday, so I didn't spend a dime! haha! Aaron on the other hand went to Lowes and I have no idea what he spent. He's like a kid in a candy store there. Thankfully we don't go there often :)

Thursday, January 15, 2009

I tried to spend money today, but the darn restaurant closed! haha! Me and Valerie took the kids to the museum today. I really really really wanted nachos once I walked past a lady eating them. I figured I'd grab them on the way out. Well...they were closed when we left, so that didn't work out. Bad for my tummy. Good for my wallet!

Other then the gas it cost me to get down there I didn't spend a dime today! Whoo hoo!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Lisa and I went to the Allen Outlets today looking for Converse for the girls. Although I can't say that I didn't buy anything - I can say I shopped much less then I normally would have!

We walked the entire mall and all I bought were 2 pair of Converse for Mac. Well...I guess I didn't buy anything. Grandma bought them for her (giggle)! She got a pair of black ones and a pair of pink ones. After we finished shopping I realized she needed a pair of white ones for the pictures they take together, but I didn't want to think about it at that moment. I'm not sure she needs 3 pairs of converse. I'm going to see which ones I like better with her pettiskirt and see if maybe we should take back one of the pairs Grandma bought. Or...if I should just go buy the white ones since I didn't have to buy the ones today. Hmmm...Maybe I'll do an ISO thread on DAM to see if anyone has a pair they want to sell.

Tonight we went out to dinner with Aaron's best friend and his family. We have not been able to get together for Christmas, so this was our Christmas with them. We went to Cotton Patch and I was pretty impressed. Our entire meal including a tip was only $30! And...it's the 14th and this is the first time we've been out to eat all month (that we've paid for!). Whoo hoo!

Yesterday we braved the bitter cold and went to the zoo! I had no idea it was going to be so cold or I would have stayed home! I've learned to now check the forecast myself...haha!
We spent $3 for the train ride. In the long run I'm not sure it was worth taking the train. Part of me would rather spend $5 for parking and have my car there. I'm still trying to think through this and decide... haha! We packed our lunch and ate outside of the zoo. It was actually really nice...we'll do this again (hopefully it will be much much warmer next time!!).

After we got back to the park and ride I had to stop at Fiesta and buy meat for the dogs. I didn't need to buy much, thankfully, because the few pounds I did have to buy cost me $25. Remind me why my dogs are on a better diet then me??? haha! Oh...and if I buy a diet coke and cheetos while at the store does it count towards groceries or my "eating out" money ;)

Later that night I went to Mooyah with the girls for dinner out. I probably should have passed on this. It wasn't worth me spending the money! I'm so surprised to say that, but it's really how I feel. I used to really enjoy going out to eat and now I feel like I better make it worth it when I go out because I can't do it often.

Monday, January 12, 2009

My wallet was saved today because we didn't go to the Converse store...haha! We're going on Wednesday instead! You know... It's really easy to save money when you stay home! I wonder how long I can keep up with this?!?

We're headed to the zoo tomorrow. I'm wondering how that will go. I'm very proud of myself for a couple of reasons. I'm a girl who likes conveniences. That's about as simple as it gets. That's why I like to eat out. It saves me a ton of time - I don't have to cook and I don't have to clean up! So...back to why I'm proud of myself. 1) Tomorrow Lisa and I decided to pack our lunch and eat out front of the zoo while we wait for the other girls to eat at Sprial Diner! This is totally out of the norm for me. I'm really happy that Lisa is doing this challenge along with me because it's definitely helping me stay on track. Her rules are more strict then mine, so it's totally helping me :) (Thanks Lisa!) 2) We're taking DART down there! It will save us on gas and parking at the zoo! I've taken DART once since I've lived here, so I'm a little nervous. We did an Alzheimers walk at the zoo, so our team took it down there. I'm just not a public transit kind of girl, but I'm trying to think of ways to save money and have fun at the same time :)

Sunday, January 11, 2009

I'm glad the weekend is over. Usually that is where we spend the bulk of our money. It definitely helped that Aaron has been sick and hasn't left the house all weekend!

I ate out twice yesterday, but didn't pay for either. And today Lisa came over, so the girls could play. No eating out again! Whoo hoo!!

I did have yummy enchiladas though! I made them on Friday for dinner, Aaron had some yesterday while I was gone, and we both had some today. There's one more left for Aaron's lunch tomorrow. I'd say that worked out pretty good! 6 meals for probably $18. I'm not good at keeping track of how much stuff cost, but I think that's a pretty close estimate.

Tomorrow I might be spending some money though. Lisa and I are talking about heading over to the Converse store to look at shoes for the girls 1 yr pictures with Chera! We'll see how that goes.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

I was at my Sisters packing today when we got the call to go pick up my nephew from school. They got back sooner then we were expecting (from a wrestling tourney), so we jumped in the car and took off. I was hungry and knew I was going to be in trouble if I didn't eat soon. There was no time to grab food though because we were already going to be late. The coach can't leave until every kid is picked up. On the way home from picking him up I got extremely dizzy and started seeing extra lanes (not such a good thing when you're driving). Then I felt like I was going to throw up. Unfortunately I was on a stretch of road where there are no side streets and no shoulders. If I stopped the car I'd be in the middle of the street and I figured that was worse then continuing to drive. I knew my blood sugar was off and that I was in trouble. There was no time to wait - I needed food and I needed it now. There was a McDonalds up ahead, so I pulled in. I would have to spend money on food because I had no other choice. And food that I didn't really want to eat. Sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do.

My purse was in the back seat though, so my sister handed me money to pay for it. I sold something for her that got picked up today and she used that money. She said that was my commission! haha!

Glad I made it there safely and that I didn't do something that could have harmed Mackenzie. A little worried that my Hypoglycemia seems to be getting worse and it was already bad enough to begin with :( And super glad my sister paid for my food since I've already spent too much on eating out this month!!!

Friday, January 9, 2009

I actually did better then I thought yesterday. It wasn't that the store didn't have what I need. What they had was not on sale and I just couldn't see spending that kind of money. We needed coke and diet coke. They weren't on sale and it was 5 something for a 12 pack. That's insane to me when you can get them for 3 or 4 12 packs for $11 or $12. I do not need Diet Coke that bad! Now...Aaron would disagree with me, but for now he'll just have to do. The other thing I wanted was a roast for the crockpot, but the cheapest one was $12 and it was small. I figured I would just cook something else this week until I could find some on sale :)

So...I guess I'm doing better then I thought. Normally I would have just bought that stuff and called it a day.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Day 8 has come and gone. Well...it would really "go" if I would get off this computer and go to sleep! haha!

I stayed home today other then a trip to the grocery store, so I couldn't get in to too much trouble :) I did spend $108 at the store though. UGH! And...I didn't get everything I needed, so I need to go back out tomorrow or Saturday. Oh...and did I mention it was so dang packed that it took me forever?!?! My kiddo went in to meltdown mode because it was nap time :(

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Call me crazy, but I went to the mall again...haha! Me & Lisa decided to take the girls to the play area since she was on this side of town :) The only money I spent was on lunch. I was so proud of Lisa because she brought her lunch. I on the other hand couldn't do that because I didn't have anything at home to bring :( I REALLY need to go grocery shopping.

So...we're on day 7 and I've already spent almost half of my monthly budget for eating out. It's not looking so good for me :(

BUT...lets take a look at the positives! I left the mall without shopping :)

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Me, Carole Anne, and the kiddos met up with Desiree at Willow Bend for lunch and play time. I figured that alone would blow this whole "Year Without", but it didn't! I swear I almost did a back flip when I walked out of there and I didn't have anything other then what I walked in with!

Carole Anne was pretty impressed with me for resisting one of my favorite stores for Mac...Pumpkin Patch. I sat there lusting over it while the kids played. HAHA! It didn't help that they were having a big sale :(

Monday, January 5, 2009

Well...my budget is definitely not that "tight", but I had not planned on buying a new tire today. I have been avoiding getting it checked out because I had a feeling the prognosis wasn't going to be good. I knew it wouldn't be able to be patched when the guy came out and said "I have bad news and worse news." Oh joy! Please. Do tell! 1) I needed a new tire and they couldn't patch it. 2) They didn't have my tire in stock and it needed to be sent here from a different location.

I needed/wanted it done today. My week is busy and I didn't want to mess with it any other day. I needed to pick Carole Anne & Lucien up from the airport in a few hours and I just wanted the tire to be fixed! Thankfully they got it there in a couple of hours and I'm now the owner of a new tire. It's really annoying that my car is not old enough to need a new tire :(

The best part about it all is that Dad was super awesome and paid the bill :) Thanks Dad!

So...It's Day 5 and I still haven't spent any money. Whoo hoo!! No worries though. Day 6 is just around the corner and I'll definitely be spending money. Carole Anne is a bad influence (haha)! We're getting Einsteins for breakfast and we're meeting Des for lunch. I'll blow half of my monthly budget tomorrow (giggle)!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

All I need to do for the next 361 days is hang out with my parents! LOL! This weekend has been super easy because we've been with them since Friday. They don't ever let me pay when they're around, so it saves me lots of money! One day when my Mom finally decides to retire this won't be the case, but for now it is.

We have been helping my Sister pack all weekend, so I haven't had time to do anything else. That definitely helps me save money ;) I feel like I've already busted through our eating out limit, but I haven't paid for a single meal. I guess that means it doesn't count...haha! Tomorrow it's back to reality, so we'll see how that goes.

I got a nail in my tire, so I'm hoping that doesn't set me back too much. Hopefully it can be patched!! If not, I'm down a few hundred. Replacing tires on the Expedition isn't cheap :( Then it's off to pick up CA at the airport. We've been talking about eating on the way home, but I might just make something yummy for us to eat here. Either way it's spending money though! That's the part I just don't get. Eating at home sometimes seems just as expensive as eating out.

OK! I guess I need to go... I started to read this post and it sounds like a whole lot of rambling!!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

It's over! I survived! I did not make a single purchase today :) WHOO HOO!!!

So...my fellow friends. How did you guys do? Did you resist Starbucks (coughGINAcough)? Did you resist online shopping (coughVALcough)? Did anyone venture out of the house or did you just stay locked inside all day, so you wouldn't be tempted?!? LOL!

Well it's January 1, 2009 and I sit here in Mackenzie's playroom wondering what the year has in store for me.

I woke up this morning and wanted to go to Dunkin Donuts. I don't even know if they're open, but I wanted some. I haven't had their donuts in a while, so I don't know why today I just had to have one! Oh wait...I know! Because I'm not supposed to!! I'm totally one of those people. Tell me I can't and I will (or I'll at least want to)!

The other thing that hit me this morning was Mackenzie's scrapbook. Can I really go a year without printing her pictures? I was thinking not. Did I need to build in an exception for that or is that a need and not a want? To me it seems like a need. Every child deserves a scrapbook if the Mom is capable of doing one. Some of my siblings don't have them (because there were way too many of them spaced way too closely and my Mom just didn't have the time) and I often here them wonder why I have one and they don't. I don't ever want Mac to wonder why I didn't care enough to do one for her. So...she'll be getting a scrapbook. Now I just need to figure out if I should switch up where I have her pictures printed in case there's a more cost efficient place. I've never cared before how much they cost. I'm just all about convenience!

Well...I'm off to do some price comparisons.

Enjoy your day!

BTW...I'm sure you'll be hearing a lot from me because this is going to be my venting board. I think it's the only way I'll get through this without some grey hair and tears!

I came back in to say this... (SEE! I told you that you'd be hearing a lot from me! LOL!!!)I HAVE to unsubscribe from all the clothing company emails. I have just got to do this. No if ands or buts about it! I opened up my emails this morning and I had a ton of them! Of course stupid me starts opening them. Know what comes next? Wanting to buy the stuff that's on sale! Ahhh!!!

Followers

Rules

The Rules

They're really quite simple, yet oh so difficult. For one year, we must follow these rules:

We really only have 1 rule. I'm going to try and break some things down though, so we have some guidance. Our #1 rule is simply SPEND LESS!!

REDUCE BUYING NEW THINGSUnless it is absolutely necessary the item does not need to be purchased.

GIFTSSignificantly reduce the cost of spending on immediate family members. No gifts for friends unless it is handmade.

NO FRIVOLOUS SPENDINGIf we can survive another year without it, we can't buy it.If it costs more than $100, we must find it used, or borrow it.

LESS EATING OUTWe are each allowed to spend $40 per month on eating out or buying specialty drinks (coffee, bubble tea, etc).As a family we're allowed $100 per month to eat out.

OUTINGSNo more than 1 special outing per month. (Zoo, museum, etc.)

Exclusions:- Mackenzie's 1st Birthday party is off limits :) I will definitely keep my spending in line and not over-do it.- Pictures with Chera for Mac's 1st Birthday and Christmas.- Halloween Costume for Mackenzie (if I can not figure out how to make her one).- Christmas presents (we will definitely reduce the amount of money spent though).- If we want a "treat" we have to sell something in order to buy it.